PORTLAND – Banknorth Group Inc. reported Thursday that it had a record quarterly income of $90.3 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, up 17 percent from a year ago.

For the third quarter, the banking group reported earnings of 55 cents per share, which was in line with expectations of analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

“Strong commercial and consumer loan growth and fee income growth coupled with solid expense control resulted in a record quarter in challenging economic times,” said William Ryan, Banknorth’s president and chief executive officer.

For the first nine months of the year, Banknorth had earnings of $259.2 million, a 17 percent increase from the first three quarters of 2002.

Its consumer and real estate loans were up by more than 20 percent for the year, helping offset a decline in profit margins.